On January 26, 2018, official ceremony dedicated to the end of the first Access program in Belarus was held at school No. 161 in Minsk. Chargé d’affaires Robert Riley congratulated the alumni of the program and wished them to take full advantage of the acquired knowledge.
This program was implemented by the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs with the financial support of the US State Department within the framework of the pilot social and educational project “Access: opportunities for all”. For two years Belarusian schoolchildren in Minsk and Cherven studied English with teachers from Belarus and the US, got acquainted with American culture, participated in various extracurricular activities, and also met artists, cinematographers and sportsmen from the United States.
Robert Riley also welcomed the new participants of the Access program, which will continue in Borisov and Baranovichi in 2018-2019, and expressed the hope that they, like their predecessors, will work hard and enjoy interesting and eventful sessions.
Access program, offered by the US State Department in more than 85 countries, the provides a solid foundation in colloquial and written English for able young teenagers from low-income families through extracurricular activities and intensive training activities.